PISCATAWAY — Returning to the Big Ten feels like a sentimental homecoming to C. Vivian Stringer, but the truth is she might be invading with an ideology that shakes up the way of the other residents.

Stringer compiled a .762 winning percentage in 12 seasons as women's basketball coach at the University of Iowa before bringing her defensive-minded mentality to Rutgers, where she further cemented her Hall of Fame legacy with her third and fourth career Final Four trips.

Now, as Rutgers makes its conference transition, Stringer's past and present are about to collide.

"I think that people need to understand the history, the success and the magnitude of the Big Ten," Stringer said. "The traditions that have been in place for years have got to be something we step to. There is a way that the Big Ten operates, with a great deal of character and integrity. It is not an individual."

The way the Big Ten operates on the hardwood, however, is very different than Rutgers' preferred method. Consider that three of its teams ranked among the top seven in the nation last season in 3-point percentage while Rutgers made the fewest 3s per game (1.3) of the 343 Division I teams.

On the other hand, Rutgers finished 12th in field-goal percentage defense — 20 spots better than the Big Ten leader.

"I don't think the Big Ten has seen the level of athlete that Rutgers typically has on their team," ESPN college basketball analyst Brooke Weisbrod said. "The Big Ten is big. They don't have nearly the amount of speed that a Rutgers team would have, especially defensively. I don't know that they've seen the type of defense night-in night-out that Rutgers brings. I just want to see (Rutgers) score more."

Weisbrod's sentiments are echoed by Usha Gilmore, a former Rutgers star under Stringer who was an assistant coach at Illinois from 2010-12 and now is head coach at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

"For Rutgers, I think this is going to be a great move," Gilmore said. "They are going to call me biased because I am a Rutgers grad, but I think they are going to make the Big Ten faster and bring a whole other side of athleticism to it. Not saying that these ladies don't get up and down the floor right now, but Rutgers' pace is a pace like no other. I think they are going to be very, very surprised how well Rutgers does at the beginning."

In an attempt to minimize its disadvantage, Rutgers expects to soon sign two perimeter-playing junior college transfers. Stringer also has said she intends to recruit shooters within the traditional Big Ten footprint.

"We're pressing and running and they are going to have to adjust to that, but we are going to have to adjust," Stringer said. "I believe that our defense is going to be an issue. So is our athleticism and the speed at which we are going to go, but we also have issues. They push the ball, too, and top to bottom they are much stronger with their post players, and they always have great 3-point shooters. They are highly skilled and very efficient in what they do. We're going to have our hands full."

None of the Big Ten coaches from Stringer's stint at Iowa still are on the job — her successor once removed, Lisa Bluder, is the dean of the league with 14 seasons — but her memories remain intact.

"You have great crowds and great facilities, when you are talking about the Big Ten," Stringer said. "It's getting ready to be a monster. When we were talking about (Big East members) Seton Hall or St. John's, they played in pro arenas but the women didn't. With the Big Ten, everybody is playing in those giant, cushy, comfort arenas. I've been there. It's great. It doesn't get any better. All people will be envious."

The Big Ten set its all-time high in total attendance last season, but any discussion of crowds in the conference begins with Feb. 3, 1985, when Iowa drew 22,157 (about 8,000 more than capacity) against Ohio State. The then-NCAA women's basketball record-sized crowd still is the largest-ever audience for a Big Ten game.

"What I remember most about that game today is thinking, 'Wow, Coach Stringer is really a visionary,' " said Rutgers director of basketball operations Michelle Edwards, a then-freshman at Iowa who also recalls the fire marshal worrying about penalties from overcrowding and a fog settling atop the arena as she ran out of the tunnel.

"When she first arrived on the campus she said, 'I have a dream that this place will be sold out.' People kind of chuckled. To see that come to fruition the second year she arrived on campus, my goodness."